Lando Lincoln:If my kid was in the Olympics, I'd be acting a lot crazier than that.

Agreed. But at the same time the coverage is kind of weird to me. I wouldn't want everything i say broadcasted like that. Is NBC using a directional microphone or are the parents wired-up? This also makes a difference....

Staffist:Lando Lincoln: If my kid was in the Olympics, I'd be acting a lot crazier than that.

I'd like to think I would keep the crazy in check, but my joy would be unbridled. These two just didn't look like they were having any fun.

They were hanging on every element of every move, just as their daughter had through thousands of hours of practice. They've sacrificed immensely in time, heartbreak and money in supporting their daughter to that point. You could see they were thrilled at the end, but they're experts in gymnastics scoring by now and know that there's a lot more to go before the medals.

I Like Bread:Maybe they could instead use that time to show us how the non-US teams are doing.

That would be nice, but many countries don't even get to watch their own gymnasts. The BBC was getting a lot of complaints about not showing all of the British gymnasts' performances, which made the BBC explain that they'd like to show them all, but they are stuck with whatever video the Olympic Broadcasting Services provides them with. If the OBS doesn't record a particular performance, then they don't have the video to broadcast.

I'm not sure if video of parents in the stands also comes from OBS or if the other broadcasters are allowed to film that, but all of the actual sports comes from OBS.

They were hanging on every element of every move, just as their daughter had through thousands of hours of practice. They've sacrificed immensely in time, heartbreak and money in supporting their daughter to that point. You could see they were thrilled at the end, but they're experts in gymnastics scoring by now and know that there's a lot more to go before the medals.

I get that, but I would have much rather seen their enthusiastically painted faces, or maybe big garish American foam pommel horse hats, or even a balance beam through the head a la Steve Martin's arrow, but I guess the 'Toddlers and Tiaras' tourettes makes for better television.

factoryconnection:Staffist: Lando Lincoln: If my kid was in the Olympics, I'd be acting a lot crazier than that.

I'd like to think I would keep the crazy in check, but my joy would be unbridled. These two just didn't look like they were having any fun.

They were hanging on every element of every move, just as their daughter had through thousands of hours of practice. They've sacrificed immensely in time, heartbreak and money in supporting their daughter to that point. You could see they were thrilled at the end, but they're experts in gymnastics scoring by now and know that there's a lot more to go before the medals.

I would be worse than that if I was crazy enough to make my kid wake up at 4 am every day since they could walk just so they could have a chance at making it in a sport that doesn't really earn a lot of money for many people. Their just a step above pageant moms.

SuburbanCowboy:I would be worse than that if I was crazy enough to make my kid wake up at 4 am every day since they could walk just so they could have a chance at making it in a sport that doesn't really earn a lot of money for many people. TheirThey're just a step above pageant moms.

No, they really aren't. These kids, for the most part, decide that this is what they want and the parents try to facilitate that goal. I know less about gymnasts than I do about swimmers, and they are NOT doing it for their parents. You can hardly blame the parents for being emoionally invested.